


Pet Shopping

by Tinamour



Category: Da Vinci's Demons
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Established Relationship, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Pet shopping, also posted on Tumblr, cute old dog, request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2019-04-21 05:08:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14277567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tinamour/pseuds/Tinamour
Summary: Leo and Riario look for apet to adopt - Fluff, Modern AU





	Pet Shopping

**Author's Note:**

  * For [zephfair](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zephfair/gifts).



> Written for Zephfair as a request for my 300 followers celebration on Tumblr

Leo passed his fingers through the bars of the cage. The kitten’s fur was incredibly soft and it purred as loudly as the engine of Zo’s motorcycle when Leo scratched its head. By his side, Riario had crouched, unaware of the folds of his long dark coat brushing on the linoleum of the shop. Leo smiled when he saw him stroke the head of a ridiculously small puppy.

Getting Riario inside the pet shop was already more than what Leo had hoped for. He had been begging for a pet for weeks, if not months, saying that it would bring some life in their home. And it was a commitment, a living being they could take care of together. That was bound to bring them closer, right? Their relationship had never been an easy one, but it had been settling into a quiet and loving domesticity they were both happy about as far as Leo knew. Now seemed the perfect time to add a new member to their family.

Riario had frowned when Leo had not so discreetly left his laptop open on a search tab with puppies and kittens.

“We’re not getting a dog,” Riario had said rather firmly that evening, when he and Leo were on the couch, watching a sci-fi tv-show Vanessa had recommended.

“A cat, then?”

“It’ll step all over your canvas, knock down your paint water mug, leave hair on our clothes…”

“A goldfish?”

Riario looked him dead in the eye. “You’ll forget to feed it.”

“Hey,” Leo said defensively, drawing away from Riario a little. “It would be ours. You’d hold some responsibility in caring for our pet.”

“By ‘some’, you mean ‘most of it’?”

Leo sighed. He hated to admit it, but Riario had a point. Leo was scatterbrained, even if he was making efforts those days (he had cooked dinner that night and remembered to pick up that paint he had ordered weeks ago at the post office), but he often needed his friends or significant other to remind him that he ought to eat something else that ramen and take a shower every once in a while.

“Can we at least try?”

Zo had a dog, a really pretty shepherd dog named Stella, who was extremely sweet and affectionate and whose only flaw was to get overexcited at times. Maybe if Leo pet-sat her for a week, to prove Riario he wouldn’t have to do all the work? And Leo had already seen Riario play with Stella when Zo wasn’t looking. He liked the dog, there was no mistaking it.

Zo agreed to let Stella stay with them when he went to visit some family, but only because Vanessa was out of town, and Nico’s flat was too small.

They had one hell of a week. Riario now had a partner for his daily jogging and Leo had someone to talk to and occasionally answer him when he was thinking out loud while working. And Stella made for a great cuddle buddy.

Riario would have rather spent one full day with his father than admit it to Zo (or even to Leo), but he missed Stella when she went back home.

So here they were, after a three-hour ride spent arguing for the hundredth time about what pet they ought to get before deciding that they would pick whichever pet felt right when they saw it.

The kitten meowed desperately when Leo removed his hand from the cage and he felt bad for abandoning it. But there were still many animals to see.

Riario rose as well, a half-smile hovering on his lips. That brought a smile to Leo’s as well. He took his boyfriend’s hand and led him further into the store.

They spent hours amongst the animals, Leo marvelling at the birds flying in the enormous aviary, while Riario wondered if a snake wouldn’t be too “exotic” for a pet. 

They were about to go back to the kittens and puppies aisle when they heard a whimper coming from their right.

Leo instinctively crouched down near the cage. The dog was old, white spots circling his nose and speckling his ambered fur.

“I wonder how long he’s been here…”

There was concern in Riario’s voice. He knelt down next to Leo, reaching for the dog’s muzzle and scratching it. The dog let out a desperate whimper as he nuzzled Riario’s hand.

Leo and Riario shared a glance.

 

The journey back was spent bickering about how whether or not “Lucky” was too cliché or if “Scooby-Doo” was even an option. Leo had refused “Raphaël” (one of his ex-partners) while Riario had frowned at “Ravioli”. By the time they got home, the dog was still unnamed, but he had shed all over the back seats.

Leo promised he’d clean later and almost dragged Riario inside.

Two hours were needed before all the dog’s accessories was arranged in a way that suited everyone, but as they snuggled on the couch, Riario’s head on his chest while Achilles curled up at their feet, Leo knew it had all been worth it.


End file.
